All Who Knew Us
by TheWallflowerGirl2207
Summary: The Gryffindor class of 1978 are about to enter their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. As they make their way into adulthood, they find their lives complicated by love, war and magic. While the world outside grows darker, they each find light in their friends who sho that anything is possible with courage and strength.
1. Chapter 1 - Lily

It was as though autumn had swept through London overnight; a brisk chill rippled through the bare-branched trees, and a blanket of red and gold leaves covered the pavements. A family of three were making their way across the busy walkways, led by a young woman with deep red hair, carrying a sleeping tabby cat in her arms. An older couple followed close behind; the woman had a long neck and slightly pinched features, with mousy brown hair, the man was broad-shouldered and balding, with a scattering of red hair over his top lip, they were taking it in turns to carry a heavy-looking trunk.

"I can take it from here, Mum." Lily said, reaching for her trunk as the entrance to King's Cross station came into view.

"Don't you want us to walk you on to the platform?" asked Mrs. Evans, clearly hurt. "It's your last year, Lily!"

"Honestly, Mum, I'm fine. You'll be meeting me on the platform at Christmas anyway." Lily assured her, gently tugging the trunk out of her mother's grip.

"Well, if you're sure…" Mrs. Evans said, clearly unconvinced.

"Of course, she's sure!" Mr. Evans laughed. "She's seventeen now, she doesn't us two around cramping her style."

Lily laughed. "No, it's not that, Dad."

"Course it isn't." Mr. Evans said, with a wink. "Well, we'll leave you to it, darling."

Lily placed the cat down by the trunk at her feet and wrapped her arms around her father's neck, embracing him tightly. Mr. Evans smiled, kissing her on the cheek. Lily reached for her mother and pulled her into the embrace. "I love you both."

Mrs. Evans sniffed tearfully. "Oh Lily, be safe, won't you?"

"It's only school, Mum!" Lily joked, picking up the cat again. "I'll see you at Christmas, and I'll write loads, I promise."

Lily grabbed her trunk and made her way into the station. After six years of attending Hogwarts, she knew the route to Platform-Nine-and-Three-Quarters like the back of her hand, and within minutes she was sliding through the platform wall. She turned to look at the clock, which told her she had fifteen minutes to kill before she would be departing for her seventh year at Hogwarts.

"Lily!"

Lily turned to find the grinning faces of Mary MacDonald and Dorcas Meadowes making their way towards her. Lily couldn't help but grin back at them, it had been two long months since she had seen her best friends. Mary's dark brown hair was tied back in its usual low bun, her wand stuck through it messily, she wore a black turtleneck jumper tucked into a high-waisted green tartan skirt, looking every bit the seventh-year student. Dorcas, however, looked her polar opposite, she wore an ankle-length floral dress that appeared to float around her as she moved. She had cut a fringe into her long, golden blonde hair over the summer which appeared to frame her heart-shaped freckled face.

"How was your summer?" Dorcas asked excitedly, pulling Lily in for a tight hug and giving her cat a quick scratch under her chin. "Hello, Tibbles."

"Fine." Lily shrugged as Tibbles purred. "Spent most of it in France with my parents."

"Ooh la la!" Mary laughed, her Scottish accent booming across the platform. "Evans has gone all continental on us!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "How were your summers?"

"I spent all of it training up for our first Quidditch match." Mary announced proudly. "You'll never guess who made Captain-"

"Now, you wouldn't happen to be talking out me, would you?" asked the dark-haired woman who had suddenly appeared behind Dorcas, clutching a cigarette between her fingers.

"Not at all, McKinnon." Mary smirked. "We try to avoid making your head any bigger than it currently is, you see."

Lily turned to look at Marlene and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Her black mini-skirt was a good three inches shorter than usual, she had paired it with a loose white blouse and platform leather boots. Her waist-length ink-black hair, which was usually tied back in a ponytail, was loose and curled.

"Looking as over-dressed as ever, I see." Mary commented, raising an eyebrow as she looked Marlene up and down.

"Piss off." Marlene grinned.

Lily glanced across the platform and caught sight of James Potter and Sirius Black making their entrance, followed by Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. She wrinkled her nose instantly.

"Oi! Potter, Black!" Mary called out, clearly having spotted them as well, she began waving her hand in the air.

"Please don't call him over here!" Lily hissed, as James turned and waved back.

"Too late." Marlene commented, they watched as he made their way over to them, followed reluctantly by Sirius.

Lily couldn't help but notice that James seemed taller. His boyish frame was gone, instead his shoulders had broadened, giving him a much older appearance. As he neared, she noticed that his usual mischievous grin was also gone, in its place was a reserved smile.

"Ladies." James greeted. "You all had a good summer, I hope?"

"Just dandy." Mary said. "We were just talking about our new Quidditch Captain."

"Oh yeah?" James asked. "Who is it?"

Marlene stepped forward with a smug smirk. "Yours truly."

"Brilliant." James smiled, but Lily noticed that it didn't quite meet his eyes. "I suppose you'll be holding try-outs pretty soon then?"

As the conversation descended into Quidditch territory, Lily glanced over to Sirius, who had stayed uncharacteristically quiet since his arrival. He was as annoyingly handsome as ever; with long, wavy dark hair and a proud profile, but his eyes lacked their usual sparkle. He hadn't even taken time to notice how short Marlene's skirt was.

"Problem, Evans?" Sirius asked, frowning. He had caught her looking at him.

"None at all." Lily answered coolly, she turned to her friends. "We better find a compartment, it's nearly eleven."

The four girls hurried on to the train and into the first empty compartment they came across. Lily placed Tibbles down on to the floor before taking her seat in between the window and Marlene.

"Did anyone notice that Potter seemed a bit-" Lily hesitated. "Subdued?"

Mary smirked. "Just because he wasn't asking you out every two minutes doesn't mean he's _subdued_."

Lily opened her mouth to protest but Dorcas cut her off. "Maybe he's just grown up a bit."

"Yeah. Maybe."

"I heard he's Head Boy this year." Marlene announced.

Lily turned so fast that her neck let out a loud 'crack'. "He's what?"

"Head Boy." Marlene repeated. "Wonder who Head Girl is?"

Lily sunk in her chair miserably. "It's me."

The other three girls exchanged stunned looks. "You didn't say anything!" Mary said indignantly.

"I forgot." Lily admitted.

"How do you just_ forget_ you're Head Girl?" Marlene asked.

"There's been a lot going on." Lily said defensively, pulling Tibbles on to her lap.

"Well, I think it's great." Dorcas said sweetly. "Congratulations, Lily."

"Thanks." Lily sighed, not feeling particularly celebratory.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful, the Prefect meeting had been cancelled due to a particularly nasty stink-bomb in the teachers compartment. As darkness fell outside, Lily could see the silhouette of Hogwarts come in to view. They quickly threw on their robes, while Lily pinned her 'Head Girl' badge to the front of hers.

"Right, well, I'll see you inside." Lily said flatly, passing Tibbles in to the care of Dorcas and making her way towards the crowd of first-years.

As she neared, she spotted the large figure of Hagrid waving at her enthusiastically and beamed. If there was one thing that would make this bearable, it was him.

"Hi'ya Lily!" Hadgrid smiled. "How wer' yer summer?"

"Good, thanks, Hagrid." Lily nodded. "How was yours?"

"Ah well, no mor' interesting than usual." Hagrid shrugged, oblivious to the several first years who were looking up at him with a mixture of awe and terror on their faces. "Hullo James!"

Lily turned to see James making his way towards them, his own Head Boy badge pinned to his front. He smiled up at Hagrid. "Hi Hagrid."

"Righ' well, I s'pose we better be gettin' off." Hagrid said, making his way towards the lake. The group of scattered first years practically jogging to keep up with his wide strides.

James barely spoke throughout the journey to the castle, every so often he glanced up at Lily and smiled half-heartedly. He didn't even laugh when one of the first-years toppled out of her boat and into the lake. By the time they had reached the castle doors, Lily had half-convinced herself that he must be under the Imperius Curse.

As Hagrid threw open the castle doors, Lily was reminded of her first night at Hogwarts with Severus by her side and how excited they had been for the Sorting ceremony. The memory filled her with a dull aching feeling that she quickly pushed away. She followed Hagrid into the hallway where Professor McGonagall stood, ready to greet them.

"Good evening." McGonagall said briskly. A few nervous mutterings of 'good evening' could be heard in reply. "The Sorting ceremony will begin shortly so I advise you to use this time to check your uniforms and make any adjustments needed."

The group of first-years began shuffling about; tucking in their shirts and straightening their ties.

"Potter, Evans." McGonagall said, turning to them. "You may go take your seats."

Lily made her way towards the Great Hall, her mind fixed solely on the copious amount of treacle tart that she would be having for dessert. James followed closely behind, his expression still vague and unreadable. As they reached the Gryffindor table, James quickly slid into a seat between Peter and Sirius, while Lily squeezed in on Sirius' other side- much to his apparent dislike- with Marlene on her right.

The Sorting ceremony was mercifully quick; as was Dumbledore's 'welcome back' speech. Before Lily knew it, the main meal was over and the numerous plates of meat and vegetables on the table were being replaced by cakes and trifles. She quickly spotted her favourite treacle tart and served herself a large helping, followed by two big spoonfuls of ice-cream.

"Nobody can make cake as good as the house-elves can." Dorcas announced, her mouth covered in chocolate smears.

"I don't know. I heard Mary's mum makes a mean Victoria Sponge." Marlene smirked.

Mary nodded. "It's true, the woman's a genius!"

"You've tried it, right Lil'?"

But Lily wasn't listening, movement at the Slytherin table had caught her eye. Severus was leaning out of his seat and towards the Gryffindor table, clearly trying to catch James' attention. "Potter!"

James turned with a frown. "What do you want, Snape?"

"Is it true your Head Boy?" Severus asked, his fellow Slytherins sniggered loudly.

"Yes." James answered, sounding tired.

"Merlin, Dumbledore must have been really scraping the bottom of the barrel to pick you." Snape laughed coldly.

"Why don't you piss off, _Snivellus_?" Sirius snarled, reaching for his wand. James placed a firm hand on Sirius' wand, holding it against the table.

"What's the matter, Potter?" Severus drawled. "Afraid of a little duel?"

James didn't answer but kept his grip firmly on Sirius' wand, his expression calm.

"Or maybe you're worried about losing your Head Boy title?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now wouldn't that be a shame, poor Potter having to write home to mummy-"

There was a flash of black and Severus was on the ground, blood pouring from his nose. James was on top of him, his fists flying, his face white with rage. Lily jumped to her feet. "James, stop!"

Sirius and Remus jumped up from their seats, each grabbing one of James' arms and pulling him away from Severus' cowering figure. A crowd had begun to gather around them as many of the first-years looked both horrified and excited.

"Out of the way!" McGonagall snapped sharply, making her way over to the scene. The crowd jumped aside and Lily was not surprised to see the furious look on McGonagall's face as she headed directly for James. "Explain yourself _at once_."

James stayed silent, his chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath. He looked murderous.

McGonagall continued to stare him down, but James simply glared back, un-speaking. "Someone take Mr. Snape to the Hospital Wing." She said finally, looking away from James.

Two of Snape's fellow Slytherins scooped him up from the ground and carried him out of the Hall, while Dumbledore quickly ordered all other students to bed. Eventually, the only people left at the Gryffindor table were James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas and Lily herself.

"Miss Evans, you may escort Miss McKinnon, Miss MacDonald and Miss Meadowes up to your dormitory." McGonagall said.

"But-" Mary protested angrily.

"This does not concern you." McGonagall said sharply.

Lily sighed, gesturing to the other three girls that it was time to leave. They made their way towards Gryffindor Tower slowly, avidly discussing the evening's events.

"I've never seen James so angry." Marlene said.

"He looked like we would have killed Snape given half the chance." Mary said darkly.

"Of course, he wouldn't." Lily said quickly. "Snape obviously touched a nerve that's all."

"What a strange thing to get so upset about…" Dorcas commented, "Personally, I didn't think James would be all that bothered about his Head Boy position."

Lily frowned. "Me neither."

As they reached the Portrait Hole, Lily felt a sudden wave of tiredness wash over her. She hadn't realised how sleepy she was, and as they entered the warm, cosy Common Room, all Lily could think of was her warm bed above them.

"I think I'll go straight to bed." Lily said, with a yawn. "Early start tomorrow."

"Really?" Mary asked, sounding disappointed, she clearly wished to discuss James' sudden outburst a little more. "Oh, well, goodnight then."

"Night all." Lily smiled.

"Night Lil'"

Lily barely managed to change into her pyjamas before crawling into her warm bed. As she pulled the covers up to her chin, her mind was filled with thoughts of the day. So, it was no surprise that as she drifted off to sleep, James' face stayed firmly in her mind's eye.


	2. Chapter 2 - Sirius

"McGonagall won't let him keep his Head Boy position." Remus said in a low voice, stirring his half-cold bowl of porridge absent-mindedly. "Not after last night."

Sirius leaned back and shrugged, attempting to look nonchalant. "As long as he's not expelled, who cares?"

"Well, I'm sure Prongs will." Peter pointed out, chewing his toast. "He didn't even manage twenty-four hours."

Sirius frowned, he knew James was proud of getting the Head Boy position but surely he would see the bright side? After all, the Marauders could get back to their old ways again, and James wouldn't have to feel guilty about getting into trouble. It would work out for the best in the long run.

"Never mind his Head Boyship." Mary butted in, having clearly been listening in on their conversation for quite some time. "It'll be a wonder if he's not expelled."

"Keep your nose out, MacDonald." Sirius snapped. "Nobody asked you."

Mary pouted playfully. "What's up Black? Scared to lose the only person who can tolerate you?"

"At least I have one." Sirius snarled.

"Cut it out." Lily warned from behind her Daily Prophet. "Both of you."

Sirius laughed nastily. "What you gonna do, Evans? Batter us to death with the newspaper?"

"You can be a right arrogant prick sometimes." Lily frowned, throwing her paper on to the table.

"Yeah well, you're a bossy little know-it-all-"

"Prongs." Remus said quietly, cutting Sirius and Lily's argument dead. Sirius looked up to see James making his way towards them; still in his robes from the previous evening, his face pale and tired. He took a seat beside Sirius and quickly began to stuff his mouth with food, he didn't look up at any of them or make any sign that he was going to tell them anything. Slowly, everyone went back to their own conversations.

"So?" Sirius asked quietly, not looking up from his half-eaten plate.

"Not expelled." James answered simply, shovelling another forkful of bacon into his mouth. "Still Head Boy."

"How did you manage that?" Sirius asked, feeling genuinely impressed.

"McGonagall knows." James answered flatly.

Sirius didn't respond, but nodded slowly before returning to his own breakfast. As the clatter in the Hall slowly died down, and students began to trickle out towards their lessons, Sirius downed the last of his coffee and grabbed his backpack with a small groan. "Double Charms this morning."

James looked down at the timetable laid in front of him and shrugged. "Double Transfiguration."

"Same here." Remus said, grabbing his own backpack from under the table and folding his new timetable neatly in to the front pocket.

"Herbology." Peter said with a small smile.

"Well, better get going." James said. "Don't think McGonagall would let me off twice in one year."

The group made their way towards the exit slowly as Peter hurried ahead, as they reached the foot of the stairs, there was the sound of running footsteps behind them.

"Potter!"

Sirius turned to see Lily making her way towards them and scowled. "What do you want-"

"What's up, Evans?" James asked, cutting him off. Sirius noticed his voice lacked the usual enthusiasm it carried when talking to Lily, but he could have sworn that his hand had almost made that familiar movement towards his unruly hair.

Lily hesitated, her green eyes flicked towards Sirius with an expression of mistrust, Sirius took the hint and carried on making his way up the stairs, but slowly enough that he could still hear them both. "I was wondering if- well, if you're still Head Boy or not?"

"Unfortunately for you, Evans, yes I am still Head Boy." James said flatly, turning to follow Sirius up to the stairs, his features set in a disappointed frown.

"Oh, right, well that's good to know." Lily said, nodding to herself, her freckled face suddenly became flushed. "Er- Potter?"

"Yes, Evans?" James answered, continuing his path up the steps.

"I'm glad you're not expelled."

Sirius watched as a small smile grew on James lips, the first genuine smile he had seen him wear in months, he paused momentarily. "Me too."

James continued to smile all the way to the third floor, and while Sirius was glad to see some of the old James back again, he couldn't help the uneasiness he felt about Lily Evans being the cause of it. He had watched her put James down at any opportunity she got for the last seven years, making him feel as though he wasn't good enough for her. Sirius knew only too well how it felt to be made small by somebody else but he couldn't stand the idea of Lily doing it to him again, not now.

"Look, Prongs." Sirius sighed, catching James as they split off for their lessons. "I think you should give Evans a wide berth."

James cocked an eyebrow from behind his glasses. "And why's that?"

"She's too full of herself." Sirius said angrily. "There's plenty of other girls out there who don't feel the need to call you an arrogant toerag at the first opportunity."

James laughed slightly. "I appreciate the thought, Padfoot. But I think I can handle Evans."

"Lily's not a bad person." Remus sighed. "I'm sure she and James will find they get on more as they get to know each other."

Sirius frowned. "But she's-"

"You'll be late." James said, his tone had a sense of finality that even Sirius couldn't ignore, insulting Evans was over the line.

Sirius nodded and set off for Flitwick's classroom, feeling slightly more deflated than usual. As he reached the fourth floor, he spotted a head of ink-black hair in the crowd of students and felt the familiar somersault he got in his stomach whenever he was within ten feet of Marlene McKinnon. She stood with Dorcas, absent-mindedly fiddling with her wand, her brown eyes glazed as she stared out of the window. Sirius' mind wandered back to their summer spent exploring Muggle London together; how she had held his hand through the shops, her wide grin as Sirius had explained the workings of the Muggle underground. He felt a sudden urge to call her name, but the hammering in his chest made it hard to do anything, he quickly hid amongst the crowd gathered outside Flitwick's classroom. He had noticed her absence at breakfast, though she was hardly ever awake in time for breakfast, and had begun to wonder whether she was avoiding him. They hadn't spoken on the platform the day before, or even at the feast last night, and she had made it clear early on in the summer that she didn't want a relationship-

"Mr. Black?" Sirius broke from his trance to find that the hallway was now empty of students and Professor Flitwick was staring up at him. "Do you plan on entering the classroom for today's lesson, or should I leave you out here?"

"Oh- sorry, Professor." Sirius muttered, quickly making his way into the classroom. As he found his seat, he felt his worries about Marlene McKinnon wash away, instead, they were replaced by a growing feeling of annoyance. He had never gotten so worked up over a girl before, and Marlene was not going to be the first. He threw his book down on his desk and grabbed his quill from his bag; if Marlene wanted to ignore him completely, he would have to give her a taste of her own potion.


End file.
